The relation between Martin Heidegger's understanding of technol- ogy and his affiliation with and conception of National Socialism is the leading idea of this fascinating and revealing book. Michael E. Zimmerman argues that Heidegger's account of modern technology grew out of his reactionary political views, according to which mo- dernity and industrialism were manifestations of the decline of the West. For Heidegger, the essence of modern technology involved not technical knowledge or equipment but rather a particular way of disclosing things - as raw material for promoting the quest for ever greater power. The key to the relation between Heidegger's philoso- phy and his politics is shown to be his concern with the nature of working and production.

Division One grounds Heidegger's critique of modern technology in the social, economic, political, and cultural context of Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. Particular emphasis is placed on the influ- ence of Ernst Jünger's writings as the link between Heidegger's con- ception of productionist metaphysics and his engagement with National Socialism. Division Two traces Heidegger's views on the origins and consequences of, and the possible alternatives to, pro- ductionist metaphysics. Here, Zimmerman analyzes Heidegger's at- tempt to conceive of an authentic mode of working and producing through the transformation of labor into a form of art. The conclu- sion underlines the contemporary relevance of Heidegger's critique of technology: Only by questioning the presuppositions, perils, and premises of the technological age can humanity, hope to discover authentic ways of living within the dangerous and the wondrous possibilities opened up by that age.

MICHAEL E. ZIMMERMAN is Professor of Philosophy at Tulane Uni- versity and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Louisiana State Uni- versity Medical School. He is the author of Eclipse of the Self: The Development of Heidegger's Concept of Authenticity.

The Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Technology